Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Québec, and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) are supporting researchers and the next generation of scientists, providing government advice, fostering intersectoral collaboration and promoting scientific research partnerships.
Rémi Quirion has held the position of Chief Scientist of Québec since 2011. Working at the intersection of the different research themes and disciplines covered by the three sectors of Québec’s research funding agency, the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), his principal mandates are to advise the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy on matters pertaining to the development of research and science, and to advise other members of Cabinet on any scientific issue likely to inform public policy. He also issues scientific opinions at the request of the government.
His other responsibilities include fostering science-society dialogue, science culture and participatory science; helping position Québec in Canada and abroad; developing international research partnerships; promoting science advice at local, regional, national and international levels; and advancing science diplomacy.
On this last point, it is worth noting the agreement signed in October 2024 between Sorbonne Université and Université Laval for the creation of a research chair in science diplomacy, the first in a series of future research chairs in this field. Rémi Quirion is also the president and CEO of the FRQ.
Supporting and promoting scientific research and the next generation of scientists
For decades, the FRQ has been dedicated to supporting the strategic and coherent development of scientific research in Québec and providing financial support for this research. The agency promotes research training and knowledge mobilisation and establishes the partnerships needed to achieve its mission.
Since June 2024, the three former FRQ funding agencies (Nature and Technologies, Health, Society and Culture) have been merged into a single entity with the aim of maximising synergies between research sectors. The FRQ has set up three scientific advisory committees, each chaired by the vice-president (research) of the corresponding sector.
The Science and Culture sector covers 13 broad research areas, including education studies and the circular economy; the Health sector covers 12 areas, with a particular focus on sustainable health and life sciences; and the Nature and Technology sector supports cutting-edge research in 11 areas ranging from green technologies to artificial intelligence and quantum sciences.
Indeed, Québec is at the forefront of quantum research, thanks in part to the work of Université de Sherbrooke Professor Alexandre Blais, who holds a research chair in quantum computer architectures funded by the FRQ.
The next generation of researchers is a priority for the FRQ. Each year, the agency awards excellence scholarships at the master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels and research grants for young researchers and new academics. In addition, an intersectoral student committee has been advising the Chief Scientist and the FRQ’s board of directors for a decade on matters relating to student researchers.
The power of an intersectoral approach
Sustainable development, including the impacts of climate change and digital technologies; demographic change and an ageing population; entrepreneurship and creativity; science-society dialogue: while free and fundamental research in each sector remains essential, the major challenges facing society must be met with strong collaboration and intersectoral research that leverages expertise from different disciplines and sectors.
To tackle these challenges that transcend disciplinary boundaries, the FRQ promotes and supports intersectoral scientific research groups. The International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies (OBVIA), for example, is studying the societal issues raised by disruptive technologies, placing living beings at the centre of the solutions. The Québec Intersectoral Flood Network (Réseau Inondations InterSectoriel du Québec, RIISQ), meanwhile, is looking for innovative, concrete solutions to manage flood risk, a major consequence of climate change.
Shining at home and abroad
Thanks to the support for fundamental research provided by the FRQ and other funding bodies, top talent is emerging in Québec in cutting-edge fields. The FRQ’s AUDACE programme funds high-risk, high-potential projects that encourage the scientific community to pursue intersectoral research and to develop unusual collaborations. Urgences rurales 360, led by Richard Fleet, a professor at Université Laval’s Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, is a good example of this. Using the circus arts as a tool to mobilise and raise awareness around the challenges of healthcare access in rural areas, the project is being carried out in collaboration with the performing arts troupe The 7 Fingers. The circus show stimulates discussion and the search for local solutions during creative mini-summits. The multidisciplinary team hopes to raise awareness of the issues among organisations involved in rural healthcare and to adapt the show for public and scientific conferences.
ENGAGEMENT, a participatory science programme, encourages equal participation of citizens and researchers. Research projects are initiated by a citizen, co-directed by a citizen-researcher duo, and recognise the legitimacy of experiential knowledge. Recently funded duos include Sergio Rossi (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi) and Francis Faucher, who are seeking to optimise tapping techniques for harvesting maple sap, the raw material for Québec’s famous maple syrup, and Maryse Bouchard (Institut national de la recherche scientifique) and Isabelle Fortin-Rondeau, who will be conducting a citizen study on polluting emissions from the Horne Smelter and the indoor contamination of homes in the Rouyn-Noranda urban area.
Communicating research results and scientific expertise
Other efforts are being made by the FRQ to support the dissemination of research results, thereby encouraging dialogue with the public and promoting a better understanding of the scientific process. The DIALOGUE programme offers grants to researchers and scholarships to doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows who wish to engage with the public, either virtually or in person, about their work. Funding recipients have been able to develop innovative projects on a variety of subjects, such as human rights, education, nutrition, palliative care, and more.
Up-and-coming scientists are encouraged to fight disinformation via the REGARDS–SDG programme. Students can propose science communication projects that use digital tools to facilitate exchanges with young people aged 18 to 30 about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Partnerships have also been established with other communication organisations, such as Agence Science-Presse and its Rumour Detector, to help combat disinformation and encourage critical thinking. Centre Déclic’s conferences bring together scientists and the public in places such as municipal libraries or other more unusual venues (e.g., public festivals).
Science-backed decision-making
Science must serve to inform public policy, supporting decision-making through evidence and scientific expertise. To this end, the FRQ encourages the scientific community to get involved in parliamentary and government affairs. A training course on public policy (L’interface) was designed to support scientists in this, and a guide on information disorders (including disinformation) for public officials is currently being developed.
Other scientists work directly at the city, provincial, and even international levels. Responding to a call from Québec’s Chief Scientist to build science advice capacity, an increasing number of municipalities are recruiting science advisors to help with local issues. The cities of Laval and Sherbrooke have partnered with the FRQ to host a scientist-in-residence to work on questions relating to climate resilience and eco-finance.
Internationally, the scientific residency programme in Québec offices and delegations abroad continues to grow, with doctoral graduates posted in Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Rabat (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Los Angeles (USA), Paris (France), and Brussels (Belgium). These scientists-in-residence help Québec to forge international scientific collaborations and contribute to science diplomacy. Finally, as president of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), the Chief Scientist created the International Francophone Network for Science Advice (RFICS) in 2022.
Promoting research and the people behind it
Every year, the FRQ awards prizes to outstanding personalities and rising stars in Québec’s scientific and research community.
Launched in 2023, the Grands Sages awards build bridges between up-and-coming researchers and key figures in the history of science in Québec and society in general, by awarding three scholarships to doctoral students working on subjects related to the expertise of the Grands Sages.
We also promote up-and-coming researchers through the Relève Étoile Award, established by the Chief Scientist on his arrival in 2011, which recognises the excellence of work by graduate students in any discipline, through scientific publication. Several of these young scientists have been featured in Curium, a popular science magazine aimed at young people, once again strengthening the link between science and society.
We should also mention the Publication en français award, whose objectives are to promote and raise the profile of French-language research publications in Québec and the French-speaking world, to encourage open access to French-language research publications, and to recognise the social relevance and spin-offs of Québec research.
Science and entrepreneurship working hand in hand
To meet society’s major challenges, Québec needs innovative companies with expertise in cutting-edge fields. One of the FRQ’s priorities is to support emerging researchers who choose to pursue this type of unconventional career.
The FRQ has set up and supports several initiatives to foster scientific entrepreneurship and creativity and to help young researchers explore careers outside the walls of academia. For example, the FRQ has joined forces with Esplanade, a programme that helps young Québec startups to initiate or improve new collaborative projects with Québec researchers, and OSEntreprendre, which awards grants to young entrepreneurs at college and university levels.
The FRQ worked with Concordia University’s District 3 Innovation Centre to set up the Québec Scientific Entrepreneurship Programme (QcES), a free online training programme. It also funds the Innovator in Residence programme, which supports, trains and brings together up-and-coming entrepreneurs and graduate students. This helps stimulate the integration of innovations into the healthcare system to the benefit of the public.
These programmes have helped many young people, like Simon Lafontaine. While at university, he co-founded Écoboeuf with his partner, Frédérique Lavallée. The company, which focuses on carbon-neutral production of grass-fed meat, won the ‘Favourite Student Business Creator’ award, presented by Québec’s Chief Scientist as part of the OSEntreprendre Challenge. It also received support and a grant from Esplanade.
Lafontaine then became involved in a research project on the biomethanation of bovine, agricultural and forestry waste. The project, funded under the FRQ’s scientific entrepreneurship support programme, includes co-investigators from two universities and one college.
The trio behind Québec’s innovation chain
To ensure that innovation gets into the hands of users and consumers, Québec has put in place a powerful chain of support, from free and fundamental research to the commercialisation of innovation.
While it may be a leader in research, in recent years, Québec has been faced with productivity and innovation challenges. Like the science strategies and policies that preceded it, the 2022-2027 Québec Research and Innovation Investment Strategy (QRIIS²) tackles barriers to innovation.
The QRIIS², the Québec government’s flagship research and innovation strategy, was developed at the initiative of the then Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy and stems from sweeping mobilisation and consultation efforts among the research and innovation community, led by the trio of Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Québec, Luc Sirois, Chief Innovator of Québec, and Bicha Ngo, President and CEO of Investissement Québec, with the objective of defining the priorities of Québec’s research and innovation ecosystem. The members of the trio play an integral role in supporting key players to put in place the structures and guidance needed to bring about a real change in culture.
Achieving greater innovation down the line means continuing to support and promote free and fundamental research and developing the talent and scientific culture needed to nurture the next generation of innovators.
The QRIIS² reaffirms the importance of supporting research from its earliest stages by funding the initiatives of the FRQ. It also looks to Axelys, a public research development corporation established in 2021, to help ensure that ideas and work emerging from the university sector find their way into innovation, particularly in the private sector.
Finally, companies are guided and financed by Investissement Québec at every stage of their development. The return on investment generated by the commercialisation of innovation creates a virtuous circle, providing funding for further free and fundamental research.
Please note, this article will also appear in the 20th edition of our quarterly publication.
